Band of Brothers

Band of Brothers

Men need a Band of Brothers

Men need a Band of Brothers, men that are not afraid to step up and tell us when we are doing something that could hurt our marriages and our relationship with our children. We need to surround ourselves with men that can be supportive and help us become better men then what we thought we could be. This has happened to me more then once. I have had friends tell me all the time that they have faith in me but have had fewer put action behind it. This action is what makes all the difference. This action can be life changing.

I have been blessed in my life to have such a band of brothers. My entire life, I have always made friends easy. Friends that share my vision and mission in life. This could be in Jr high and High school where I had some great friends that encourage me to this day. Throughout College (each one of them) I had great friends that wanted to see me succeed. Once I received my degree, I started my own business and was blessed to have some legends in my corner. I had people that I respected encourage me and that wanted to help show me how to succeed. This group of people is one of the essential pieces that we all need. Especially as men!

We are the Average

Jim Rohn has said that we are the average of the five people that we spend the most time with. This is so true. When I look back over my life, it is easy to see that the people I choose to hang out with, pointed my life in the direction of success or failure. This is especially important once you decide to get married and once you choose to have children. These two things do not happen be accident but instead happen because of the decisions we make in life. I know what some of you are thinking at this point, my friends cannot pull me down. I am stronger than them and will help them through the pain of life. I know this because that was always my argument when people would tell me these things. The other thing your probably telling yourself is that you do not need the band of brothers because you can walk this road by yourself. A great way of thinking about this band of brothers is by thinking about this scene.

Imagine

Imagine standing a chair and trying to pull someone (your same size) up onto the chair with you. This is difficult because we are fighting against the law of nature and there are different things that are stopping us. While you are trying to pull someone up onto the chair, this same person (if they are pulling at all) can easily pull you down to the floor. So often though, as men, it is so easy to believe that we can walk this journey. When we make that decision, life can easily pull us down. When we are pulled down to the floor, it can be difficult to get back onto the chair (life). This is when things like stress, anxiety, and depression can set in, taking us away from our spouses and children. At the same time, when we have this band of brothers, it works the opposite way. It works as if a group of men are pulling you up onto a chair or table rather then you just being pulled in one way or another. When you have a group of guys supporting you and helping you, there’s little life can through at you that will knock you down. Imagine what you can accomplish when you have men providing a safety net for you when life gets difficult. These men can encourage you and speak truth into your life as throws its best at you.

This Means

This means that we need to choose our friends wisely. Our friends set us up for success or failure every day. If we are hanging out with men who have a horrible relationship with their wives and children, then guess what. That same relationship will rub off on us because in the back of our minds, we are not as best as _____________________ (Fill in the blank). As men, we typically measure ourselves against what other men are doing. We judge ourselves based on their success or their failure. First, if we have friends that we are putting down in our minds to make ourselves feel better, we need new friends. Second, we need to surround ourselves with people who challenge relationships to improve. This is were the band of brothers come in. These guys can help give you suggestions on how to improve your own relationship with your wife or with your children. This is surrounding yourself with people who hold you to a higher standard of life. This band of brothers can build you so that you can become a better husband and become a better dad.

Challenge Question

Who are you surrounding yourself with?? How are these men helping you to build a great marriage and relationship with your children??